Henry burrell



(No Model.) V

H. BUBRELL.

TABLE FOR USE AT SEA.

No. 427,669. Patented May 13. 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY BURRELL, OF GRAVESEND, COUNTY OF KENT, ENGLAND.

TABLE FOR USE AT SEA.

SPECTFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,669, dated May 13,1890.

Original application filed December 4, 1888, Serial 110,292,666. Dividedand this application filed April 8, 1889. Serial No. 306,394:- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY BURRELL,1ner chant, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, residing at Gravesend, in the county of Kent, l lngland,have invented new and useful Improvements in Tables for Use at Sea, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tables intended to V be used as dining-tablesand for similar purposes at sea, in railway-trains, or wherever tablesare subject to motion, and more par ticularly to apparatus forpreventing the undue motion of plates, dishes, and other articlesthereon,

This invention is in certain respects a division of my application forLetters Patent in the United States, filed December 4, 1888, Serial No.292,666, for improvements in tables for use at sea.

According to my invention I construct my said tables in the mannerillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a planview with part of the table-top removed to show the mechanism beneath.Fig. 2 is a transverse section showing the lifting mechanism, and Fig. 3is a similar section showing the hooks by which the fiddles are heldwhen in use. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 represent details of the same andare drawn to a larger scale.

A indicates the face or surface of the top of the table; B, the frame;0, the legs; D,the floor or deck; F, the fiddles or frame, which, whenraised above the surface of the table, serves to divide the table-topinto spaces and support the plates, dishes, and the like, or to preventor check their undue motion, and said frame or fiddles is made to lie,when not required for use, in grooves or recesses in or through thetable-top and frame, as shown on the sectional drawings, and to have theupper surface flush with that of the table.

19 is a bar having a rack or racks on its upper edge and slidinghorizontally in bearings fixed to the frame of the table. (1 is a knobor handle by which the said bar is moved in order to raise or lower thefiddles.

r r are pinions gearing with the rack or racks on the harp, and thuscause to revolve when the bar is moved to the right or left. Keyed tothe same axle with each pinion r is an eccentric .9. (Shown more plainlyin Figs. 4, 5, and G, in which Fig. 4 represents the position of theeccentric when the fiddles are lowered-that is to say, when the tops ofthem are flush with the surface of the tableand Fig. 6 represents one ofthe eccentrics in the position it assumes when the fiddles are raised.)

ti are metal plates let into the lower sur-, face of the fiddles for theeccentrics to work against; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section of partof the table-frame, showing the same parts.

o o are hooks, (shown more plainly in Figs. 7 and S, the former figureshowing the hook turned under the table when the fiddles are not in useand held there by the turn-button 1', which passes through a slot madefor the purpose in the hook o.)

a is a hinge by which the hook is attached to the frame B.

Fig. 8 shows the same parts with the fiddles raised and one of the hookso engaged with the fiddle, thus supporting and holding it in its place,the end of the hook being made to pass into a slot in the fiddle.

In actual use, when the cloth is about to be spread, the steward orattendant seizes the knob q and slides the bar p'horizontally in itsbearings, thus raising the fiddles to the position shown in Fig. 6. Thefiddles may then be lifted entirely out of their grooves and off thetable. The cloth is then spread and the fiddles replaced, but on thecloth, the thickness of the cloth preventing the fiddles sinking backinto their grooves. The'hooksv are then released from the position shownin Fig. 7 by turning their respective turn-buttons r parallel with theslot in the hook, as represented in Fig. 8, and the hook is turned onits hinge into the position shown in the same figure, and secured thereby turning the tu r11- button 02. The bottom edges of the fiddles mayconveniently be rounded off, so as to prevent their damaging thetable-cloth, and the hooks may be arranged to hold the fiddles eithertightly down on the cloth or, preferably, slightly raised from it.

It will be obvious that the lifting mechanism may be altogetherdispensed with and the fiddlcs be made to be lifted out of their groovesby means of sunk rings or flush handles attached to them for thepurpose.

By the use of tables constructed according to my said invention thecomfort of the passengers on board ocean-going and other ships,long-journey trains, 850., will be greatly increased. The trouble andinconvenience attending the getting out and fixing the loose lathsheretofore in use for the same purpose will be almost entirely avoided,and the fiddles will probably, therefore, be brought into use muchoftener than were the old ones, to the great advantage of bothpassengers and stewards, and to the increased security of thetable-service and diminution of breakages.

The frame or fiddles represented in the drawings divide the table-topinto seven spaces. It will be obvious that the frame may be made with agreater or less number of divisions or subdivisions, or be made,especially a fiddle-frame fitting in said grooves or recesses andvertically movable therein, in com for small tables, round the edges ofthe table only without any internal division.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

1. A table for use at sea and the like, having grooves or recesses, incombination with a frame composed of connected fiddles normally lyingwithin said grooves or recesses, with their upper edges fiush with thesurface of the top of said table, said fiddle-frame, however, beingunattached to said table, substantially as set forth, whereby saidfiddle-frame is free at all times to be lifted in said grooves orrecesses, or to be entirely removed from said table.

2. A table for use at sea and the like, havin g grooves or recesses inits top, said grooves or recesses extending around the rim of the table,in combination with a frame composed of a series of connected fiddlesnormally lying within said grooves or recesses, with their upper edgesflush with the surface of the top of said table, said fiddle-frame,however, being unattached to said table, substantially as set forth,whereby said fiddle-frame is free at all times to be lifted in saidgrooves or recesses, or to be entirely removed from said table.

3. A table for use at sea and the like, having grooves or recesses androtary eccentrics mounted on said table and in line with said grooves orrecesses, in combination with fiddles fitting in said grooves orrecesses and resting on said eccentrics, substantially as set forth.

4. A table for use at sea and in analogous situations, having grooves orrecesses, and rotary eccentrics mounted on said table and in line withsaid grooves, in combination with fiddles fitting in said grooves orrecesses and resting on said eccentrics, said fiddles being unattachedto said table, substantially as set forth.

5. Atable for use at sea and in analogous situations, having grooves orrecesses, and rotary eccentrics mounted on said table and in line withsaid grooves, in combination with a frame consisting of connectedfiddles, said frame fitting in said grooves or recesses and resting onsaid eccentrics, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of the frame F with the eccentrics s, the pinions r,and rack-edged bar 19, substantially as described.

7. A table having grooves or recesses and bination with hooks pivoted tosaid table and adapted to hold said fiddle-frame in an elevatedposition, substantially as set forth.

8. A table having grooves or recesses and a fiddle-frame fitting in saidgrooves or recesses and vertically movable therein, said fiddle-framebeing unattached to said table, whereby it may be lifted away therefrom,in combination with hooks pivoted to said table and adapted to hold itin an elevated posi tion, substantially as set forth.

9. A table having grooves or recesses and a fiddle-frame fitting in saidgrooves or recessses and vertically movable therein, the fiddles of saidframe having apertures in their sides, in combination with hooks pivotedto said tables and adapted to have their ends inserted in saidapertures, substantially as set forth.

10. The table and fiddles F, in combination with the pivoted hooks 1;,having slots therein, and the turn-buttons o 21 fitting in the slots insaid hooks, substantially-as set forth, whereby said hooks may beretained in their several positions.

HENRY BURRELL.

YVitnesses:

N EWNHAM BRowNE, 73 Cheapside, London, Patent Agent.

G. F. WARREN, N ciao-y Public, 17 GraccdmrchSzfreet, London.

